- Email: [email protected]
Hexagon ultra-high-pressure composite tanks for California
NEWS agreement for the development, production and commercialisation of PEM fuel cell micro combined heat and power (CHP) systems. PEMFC micro CHP solutions are intended to supply electricity and heat while producing zero emissions. The power range applicable to this agreement is primarily – but not exclusively – focused on systems up to 20 kW. Arnhem-based Nedstack is a leading player in the PEM fuel cell sector, with a strategic focus and strong track record in high-power and mission-critical applications [see the Feature in FCB, August 2014, and the News Feature in November 2016]. The company develops, builds, verifies, applies and services PEM fuel cell solutions, demonstrating products and services with superior quality, durability, safety and reliability while remaining cost competitive. It tailors its solutions and services to achieve optimal energy efficiency, large-scale deployment of zero-emission power systems, and balanced power grids. Raak Engineering specialises in the design, production, installation and delivery of turnkey industrial gas pressure reducing installations. Hydrogen consultancy H2-Tech uses its specialist knowledge to convert vehicles and machines to run on hydrogen, such as bicycles, boats, scooters, forklifts, golf carts, aggregates, and mobile service stations. Both are located in the northern town of Hoogeveen. Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV: www.nedstack.com Raak Engineering BV: www.raakengineering.com [in Dutch] H2-Tech: www.h2-tech.nl [in Dutch]
LARGE STATIONARY
Toyota installs Mirai FC based stationary generator at Honsha
J
apanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation has developed a stationary fuel cell generator that utilises the hydrogen PEM fuel cell system equipped in the Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle. The generator has been installed at the company’s Honsha Plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and tests have commenced to verify the generator’s applicability for offices, factories, and other commercial scenarios. The generator uses two each of the fuel cell system components equipped in the Mirai, including its stack, power control unit, 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
secondary battery, and air compressor [FCB, November 2014, p1]. By using components from the Mirai FC system, Toyota aims to produce a high-performance generator at a reasonable price. Development of the generator was carried out jointly by Toyota and Toyota Energy Solutions Inc [July 2018, p12]. For the verification tests, the electricity generated by the fuel cell generator will be used inside the Honsha Plant [May 2018, p1]; the generator will operate continuously for 24 hours per day, and generate a rated output of 100 kW. The energy efficiency, stability of the generated output, and durability and ease of maintenance will be verified and evaluated. Based on the results of the verification tests, Toyota intends to use fuel cell generators as onsite power generators in an increasing number of plants. The generators will be fueled by hydrogen emitted both during the production process for fuel cell system components, and during the evaluation and testing processes; in this way, Toyota intends to develop and implement technologies that make effective use of hydrogen. In 2015, Toyota announced its Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, one of which was the Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge [November 2015, p2].
Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) project [see the News Feature in FCB, October 2015, and June 2016, p1]. The latest opening further increases the density of the hydrogen supply network in Germany. The northwestern state of North Rhine-Westphalia already has 17 operational hydrogen refueling stations, topping the list of federal states with such facilities, followed by Bavaria (16) and Baden-Württemberg (12). In addition to the 75 hydrogen stations in operation, a further 29 are being planned and built throughout Germany. H2 Mobility Deutschland has also announced that a hydrogen station will be built for Hamburg Airport, at Weg beim Jäger 193. The facility will be integrated into a Shell station, and feature technology from Air Liquide. The new station is supported by the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).
Toyota Mirai: https://tinyurl.com/toyota-europe-mirai
Hydrogen Mobility Europe project: www.h2me.eu
FUELING
H2 Mobility Deutschland: https://h2.live/en Shell Global, Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/shell-h2 Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/hydrogen-energy-airliquide
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch.europa.eu National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology: http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
Germany opens station in Mönchengladbach, Hexagon ultra-highadds Hamburg Airport pressure composite tanks for California n late September the H2 Mobility
I
Deutschland joint venture and its shareholders Shell and Air Liquide jointly opened the first hydrogen refueling station facility in Mönchengladbach, North RhineWestphalia – the 75th such facility in Germany. The JV has also announced a further location for a hydrogen station, at Hamburg Airport. The Mönchengladbach facility is located at the Shell station at Odenkirchener Strasse 160 in the Rheydt district, along the B230 federal highway and close to the A61, A44 and A46 motorways. The station’s ownerdeveloper is H2 Mobility, which is establishing Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure, while the hydrogen station technology for this facility comes from gas and technology company Air Liquide. The hydrogen station is funded by the EU-supported Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH2 JU) through the
H
exagon Group has been granted approval for its ultra-high-pressure hydrogen ground storage composite tanks by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. The Cal/OSHA approval allows Hexagon’s 1034 bar (15 000 psi) composite pressure tanks to be used as hydrogen ground storage in California. These pressure vessels are typically used as the high-pressure bank in hydrogen refueling stations. After vehicles with 700 bar tanks are filled from the medium-pressure storage (~500 bar), the 1034 bar tanks will ensure top filling up to 700 bar. These tanks have been in service as ground storage at hydrogen stations in Europe and Canada for several years. The Type 4 allcomposite tank technology allows this approval to provide a 20-year tank life, with only one requalification test required at year 15. This
October 2019
NEWS minimises operating costs and maximises uptime. Last autumn these pressure vessels were permitted by the US Department of Transportation for moving hydrogen at 950 bar (13 775 psi) on American roadways, making them a multi-application product [FCB, January 2019, p9]. ‘We are glad to see the supplier base of hydrogen ground storage equipment expanding, particularly for the California market,’ says Tim Brown, Chief Operations Officer of FirstElement Fuel, leading operator of hydrogen refueling stations in North America [see the In Brief item on p15]. ‘The introduction of such a lightweight product as this one can be especially useful in urban settings where equipment footprint is critical. Lightweight tanks can be installed above grade; for example, above the hydrogen compression equipment, above the convenience store, or above the gas island canopy, thus saving real estate.’ Hexagon Purus: www.hexagonxperion.com/en Hexagon Composites ASA: www.hexagongroup.com
GREEN HYDROGEN
H-TEC Systems 10 MW PEM electrolyser for hydrogen economy
G
erman hydrogen technology manufacturer H-TEC Systems unveiled its plans for a 10 MW PEM electrolyser at the recent Husum Wind 2019 wind energy trade show in Schleswig-Holstein, along with its market-ready 1 MW PEM electrolysers for decentralised applications at wind power plants, heat sinks, and hydrogen refueling stations. ‘The planned 10 MW PEM electrolyser will be able to produced 4500 kg of hydrogen per day. That is enough hydrogen to power for example around 900 cars or 50 buses, or even 50 trains with fuel cell drive,’ says Heinrich Gärtner, CEO of H-TEC Systems. ‘Here we are talking about climate-neutral hydrogen efficiently produced from renewable energies such as wind. The market potential of ‘green’ hydrogen as a fuel for the transport sector simply keeps on growing.’ H-TEC Systems’ ME 100/350 (225 kW) and ME 450/1400 (1 MW) electrolysers are already in demand for decentralised applications, e.g. for wind park operators in northern Germany, with the primary aim of selling green hydrogen as a fuel to local hydrogen refueling stations and for feeding
October 2019
hydrogen into the natural gas network (i.e. Power-to-Gas, P2G). H-TEC has more than 20 years’ experience in hydrogen technology product R&D, and manufactures MW-class stacks and electrolysers at production sites in Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria. The focus is on PEM technology for industrial hydrogen applications and for use by electricity refiners and converters. The company is part of GP Joule, which integrates hydrogen-based energy storage technology into concepts for intelligent renewable energy operation and use [FCB, January 2019, p9]. Earlier this year MAN Energy Solutions acquired a 40% stake in H-TEC Systems, to support faster growth in the development, production and sales of MW-scale PEM electrolysers and stacks [April 2019, p10]. H-TEC Systems: www.h-tec-systems.com/en
Hyundai, Hydrospider plan Swiss industrial hydrogen ecosystem
H
yundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), the joint venture between South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company and Swiss hydrogen specialist H2 Energy, is partnering with Hydrospider – itself a joint venture of H2 Energy, Alpiq, and Linde – to accelerate a ‘green’ hydrogen ecosystem in Switzerland and other European countries. As part of this effort, HHM and Hydrospider held a ceremony at Alpiq’s hydroelectric power plant in Gösgen, Switzerland, to introduce a new business model for green mobility with fuel cell electric trucks in alignment with Hydrospider’s green hydrogen production, and a plan for building up the necessary refueling infrastructure. At the event Hyundai [see also page 14] also provided detailed information about its next-generation Hyundai H2 Xcient fuel cell electric truck, with the first 50 trucks planned for delivery in Switzerland in 2020. Earlier this year, Hyundai and H2 Energy established the HHM joint venture, to take the lead in Europe’s burgeoning hydrogen mobility ecosystem [FCB, May 2019, p4]. HHM plans to deploy 1600 fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks by 2025, marking the automaker’s entry into the European clean mobility commercial vehicle sector [October 2018, p3]. These trucks will be offered in a specially designed green ecosystem to members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association, as well as to other
transport and logistics companies promoting Swiss hydrogen mobility. HHM will also position itself in the European fuel cell electric commercial vehicle market, playing a key role in the wider move to establish solutions and partner networks in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Norway. H2 Energy, Linde [see also page 1], and Alpiq set up Hydrospider at the beginning of 2019, to produce and deliver hydrogen to refueling stations [March 2019, p8]. Production of green hydrogen at Alpiq’s hydroelectric power plant in Gösgen, using a 2 MW PEM electrolyser, will be commissioned at the end of 2019 [August 2019, p9]. The Hyundai H2 Xcient Fuel Cell truck has been developed according to European regulations, and features a new 190 kW PEM fuel cell system comprising two 95 kW stacks connected in parallel. Its seven hydrogen tanks store almost 35 kg of hydrogen, for a range of more than 400 km (250 miles). Hyundai Commercial Vehicle: http://trucknbus.hyundai.com/global/en H2 Energy: www.h2energy.ch/en Hydrospider: www.hydrospider.ch/en Alpiq: www.alpiq.com The Linde Group: www.linde.com H2 Mobility Switzerland Association: www.h2mobilitaet.ch/en
COMMERCIALISATION
Blue World methanol fuel cell factory under construction in Aalborg
B
lue World Technologies has broken ground for the construction of what it says will be the world’s largest methanol fuel cell factory, at the Port of Aalborg in Denmark. The 5285 m2 (56 900 ft2) factory will have a production capacity of 750 MW per annum, equivalent to 50 000 fuel cell units. Blue World announced its factory plans in late 2018 [FCB, December 2018, p12]. Construction of the new production facilities is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 in 2020, after which installation of the highly automated production equipment will begin [July 2019, p11]. Production is planned to start in late summer 2020, and ramp up to reach full production capacity in 2023–2024. Manufacturing will primarily focus on key fuel cell components such as bipolar plates, membranes, and electrodes.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9
LARGE STATIONARY
Toyota installs Mirai FC based stationary generator at Honsha
J
apanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation has developed a stationary fuel cell generator that utilises the hydrogen PEM fuel cell system equipped in the Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle. The generator has been installed at the company’s Honsha Plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and tests have commenced to verify the generator’s applicability for offices, factories, and other commercial scenarios. The generator uses two each of the fuel cell system components equipped in the Mirai, including its stack, power control unit, 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
secondary battery, and air compressor [FCB, November 2014, p1]. By using components from the Mirai FC system, Toyota aims to produce a high-performance generator at a reasonable price. Development of the generator was carried out jointly by Toyota and Toyota Energy Solutions Inc [July 2018, p12]. For the verification tests, the electricity generated by the fuel cell generator will be used inside the Honsha Plant [May 2018, p1]; the generator will operate continuously for 24 hours per day, and generate a rated output of 100 kW. The energy efficiency, stability of the generated output, and durability and ease of maintenance will be verified and evaluated. Based on the results of the verification tests, Toyota intends to use fuel cell generators as onsite power generators in an increasing number of plants. The generators will be fueled by hydrogen emitted both during the production process for fuel cell system components, and during the evaluation and testing processes; in this way, Toyota intends to develop and implement technologies that make effective use of hydrogen. In 2015, Toyota announced its Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050, one of which was the Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge [November 2015, p2].
Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) project [see the News Feature in FCB, October 2015, and June 2016, p1]. The latest opening further increases the density of the hydrogen supply network in Germany. The northwestern state of North Rhine-Westphalia already has 17 operational hydrogen refueling stations, topping the list of federal states with such facilities, followed by Bavaria (16) and Baden-Württemberg (12). In addition to the 75 hydrogen stations in operation, a further 29 are being planned and built throughout Germany. H2 Mobility Deutschland has also announced that a hydrogen station will be built for Hamburg Airport, at Weg beim Jäger 193. The facility will be integrated into a Shell station, and feature technology from Air Liquide. The new station is supported by the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).
Toyota Mirai: https://tinyurl.com/toyota-europe-mirai
Hydrogen Mobility Europe project: www.h2me.eu
FUELING
H2 Mobility Deutschland: https://h2.live/en Shell Global, Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/shell-h2 Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/hydrogen-energy-airliquide
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch.europa.eu National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology: http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
Germany opens station in Mönchengladbach, Hexagon ultra-highadds Hamburg Airport pressure composite tanks for California n late September the H2 Mobility
I
Deutschland joint venture and its shareholders Shell and Air Liquide jointly opened the first hydrogen refueling station facility in Mönchengladbach, North RhineWestphalia – the 75th such facility in Germany. The JV has also announced a further location for a hydrogen station, at Hamburg Airport. The Mönchengladbach facility is located at the Shell station at Odenkirchener Strasse 160 in the Rheydt district, along the B230 federal highway and close to the A61, A44 and A46 motorways. The station’s ownerdeveloper is H2 Mobility, which is establishing Germany’s hydrogen infrastructure, while the hydrogen station technology for this facility comes from gas and technology company Air Liquide. The hydrogen station is funded by the EU-supported Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH2 JU) through the
H
exagon Group has been granted approval for its ultra-high-pressure hydrogen ground storage composite tanks by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. The Cal/OSHA approval allows Hexagon’s 1034 bar (15 000 psi) composite pressure tanks to be used as hydrogen ground storage in California. These pressure vessels are typically used as the high-pressure bank in hydrogen refueling stations. After vehicles with 700 bar tanks are filled from the medium-pressure storage (~500 bar), the 1034 bar tanks will ensure top filling up to 700 bar. These tanks have been in service as ground storage at hydrogen stations in Europe and Canada for several years. The Type 4 allcomposite tank technology allows this approval to provide a 20-year tank life, with only one requalification test required at year 15. This
October 2019
NEWS minimises operating costs and maximises uptime. Last autumn these pressure vessels were permitted by the US Department of Transportation for moving hydrogen at 950 bar (13 775 psi) on American roadways, making them a multi-application product [FCB, January 2019, p9]. ‘We are glad to see the supplier base of hydrogen ground storage equipment expanding, particularly for the California market,’ says Tim Brown, Chief Operations Officer of FirstElement Fuel, leading operator of hydrogen refueling stations in North America [see the In Brief item on p15]. ‘The introduction of such a lightweight product as this one can be especially useful in urban settings where equipment footprint is critical. Lightweight tanks can be installed above grade; for example, above the hydrogen compression equipment, above the convenience store, or above the gas island canopy, thus saving real estate.’ Hexagon Purus: www.hexagonxperion.com/en Hexagon Composites ASA: www.hexagongroup.com
GREEN HYDROGEN
H-TEC Systems 10 MW PEM electrolyser for hydrogen economy
G
erman hydrogen technology manufacturer H-TEC Systems unveiled its plans for a 10 MW PEM electrolyser at the recent Husum Wind 2019 wind energy trade show in Schleswig-Holstein, along with its market-ready 1 MW PEM electrolysers for decentralised applications at wind power plants, heat sinks, and hydrogen refueling stations. ‘The planned 10 MW PEM electrolyser will be able to produced 4500 kg of hydrogen per day. That is enough hydrogen to power for example around 900 cars or 50 buses, or even 50 trains with fuel cell drive,’ says Heinrich Gärtner, CEO of H-TEC Systems. ‘Here we are talking about climate-neutral hydrogen efficiently produced from renewable energies such as wind. The market potential of ‘green’ hydrogen as a fuel for the transport sector simply keeps on growing.’ H-TEC Systems’ ME 100/350 (225 kW) and ME 450/1400 (1 MW) electrolysers are already in demand for decentralised applications, e.g. for wind park operators in northern Germany, with the primary aim of selling green hydrogen as a fuel to local hydrogen refueling stations and for feeding
October 2019
hydrogen into the natural gas network (i.e. Power-to-Gas, P2G). H-TEC has more than 20 years’ experience in hydrogen technology product R&D, and manufactures MW-class stacks and electrolysers at production sites in Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria. The focus is on PEM technology for industrial hydrogen applications and for use by electricity refiners and converters. The company is part of GP Joule, which integrates hydrogen-based energy storage technology into concepts for intelligent renewable energy operation and use [FCB, January 2019, p9]. Earlier this year MAN Energy Solutions acquired a 40% stake in H-TEC Systems, to support faster growth in the development, production and sales of MW-scale PEM electrolysers and stacks [April 2019, p10]. H-TEC Systems: www.h-tec-systems.com/en
Hyundai, Hydrospider plan Swiss industrial hydrogen ecosystem
H
yundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), the joint venture between South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company and Swiss hydrogen specialist H2 Energy, is partnering with Hydrospider – itself a joint venture of H2 Energy, Alpiq, and Linde – to accelerate a ‘green’ hydrogen ecosystem in Switzerland and other European countries. As part of this effort, HHM and Hydrospider held a ceremony at Alpiq’s hydroelectric power plant in Gösgen, Switzerland, to introduce a new business model for green mobility with fuel cell electric trucks in alignment with Hydrospider’s green hydrogen production, and a plan for building up the necessary refueling infrastructure. At the event Hyundai [see also page 14] also provided detailed information about its next-generation Hyundai H2 Xcient fuel cell electric truck, with the first 50 trucks planned for delivery in Switzerland in 2020. Earlier this year, Hyundai and H2 Energy established the HHM joint venture, to take the lead in Europe’s burgeoning hydrogen mobility ecosystem [FCB, May 2019, p4]. HHM plans to deploy 1600 fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks by 2025, marking the automaker’s entry into the European clean mobility commercial vehicle sector [October 2018, p3]. These trucks will be offered in a specially designed green ecosystem to members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association, as well as to other
transport and logistics companies promoting Swiss hydrogen mobility. HHM will also position itself in the European fuel cell electric commercial vehicle market, playing a key role in the wider move to establish solutions and partner networks in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Norway. H2 Energy, Linde [see also page 1], and Alpiq set up Hydrospider at the beginning of 2019, to produce and deliver hydrogen to refueling stations [March 2019, p8]. Production of green hydrogen at Alpiq’s hydroelectric power plant in Gösgen, using a 2 MW PEM electrolyser, will be commissioned at the end of 2019 [August 2019, p9]. The Hyundai H2 Xcient Fuel Cell truck has been developed according to European regulations, and features a new 190 kW PEM fuel cell system comprising two 95 kW stacks connected in parallel. Its seven hydrogen tanks store almost 35 kg of hydrogen, for a range of more than 400 km (250 miles). Hyundai Commercial Vehicle: http://trucknbus.hyundai.com/global/en H2 Energy: www.h2energy.ch/en Hydrospider: www.hydrospider.ch/en Alpiq: www.alpiq.com The Linde Group: www.linde.com H2 Mobility Switzerland Association: www.h2mobilitaet.ch/en
COMMERCIALISATION
Blue World methanol fuel cell factory under construction in Aalborg
B
lue World Technologies has broken ground for the construction of what it says will be the world’s largest methanol fuel cell factory, at the Port of Aalborg in Denmark. The 5285 m2 (56 900 ft2) factory will have a production capacity of 750 MW per annum, equivalent to 50 000 fuel cell units. Blue World announced its factory plans in late 2018 [FCB, December 2018, p12]. Construction of the new production facilities is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 in 2020, after which installation of the highly automated production equipment will begin [July 2019, p11]. Production is planned to start in late summer 2020, and ramp up to reach full production capacity in 2023–2024. Manufacturing will primarily focus on key fuel cell components such as bipolar plates, membranes, and electrodes.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9